JING SCREENCAST: "HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOMEPAGE IN BLACKBOARD"
Description of Product: A screencast is a multi-media application that can be used to show how to complete a task or create a product. Screencasts can be viewed by students who can watch and listen as their teacher explains something to them. It allows them to access the information from any computer with internet access and because it is both auditory and visual, addresses two of the three learning modalities. A screencast could be used in settings from business to schools with users of all ages. (adapted from Blackboard, EDT 6020)
Process:
In order to create a screencast using Jing, I first had to download the program from the website, http://www.jingproject.com/. It is a free download and is available for both MAC and PC. Once the program was installed on my computer a small yellow circle appeared at the top of my screen. By running my mouse over the yellow circle I was able to see the three smaller circle icons. The icons were labeled capture, history, and more. I wanted to create a screencast to show my students how to create their homepage in Blackboard. I went my sample Blackboard site and this is where I began my screencast. To begin I clicked on the "capture" icon. this brought up a window that allowed me to decide if I wanted just that page or if I was going to create a video. I chose video and then a countdown began so that I would know when to begin narrating the activity. I wasn't able to complete my entire screencast from this site however, since I do not have the ability to add homepages to my sample Blackboard page. Instead, I accessed my own homepage on the EDT6020 site where I had deleted the information I had added there earlier. I used the EDT 6020 site to explain to my students how to create their page and upload a photo. I offered some suggestions about information they might want to include. When it was done, I demonstrated how to submit their page and then go back and view their page or the pages of their friends. It took several tries with Jing to get it right as the first attempt went over the 5 minute limit and my second attempt showed that I hadn't captured the complete image I wanted. However, the third time was a charm and the screencast really was fairly simple to complete.
Reflection:
Creating the screencast was really quite simple once I was able to determine an application for my students. I decided to use it to show how to create a homepage on Blackboard since Kindergarten students typically wouldn't have any background knowledge of either Blackboard or creating a homepage. The program is quite easy to use with a simple drop and drag tool although I did have some trouble selecting the specific portion of the screen I wanted. It did take me a few tries to get a capture that I was satisfied with and I was a little frustrated that I had to start all over again and couldn't edit my original capture.
A screencast is a multi-media application that can be used to show how to complete a task or create a product. Screencasts can be viewed by students who can watch and listen as their teacher explains something to them. It allows them to access the information from any computer with internet access and because it is both auditory and visual, addresses two of the three learning modalities. A screencast could be used in settings from business to schools with users of all ages. (adapted from Blackboard, EDT 6020)
Jing Screencast Link
Process:
In order to create a screencast using Jing, I first had to download the program from the website, http://www.jingproject.com/. It is a free download and is available for both MAC and PC. Once the program was installed on my computer a small yellow circle appeared at the top of my screen. By running my mouse over the yellow circle I was able to see the three smaller circle icons. The icons were labeled capture, history, and more. I wanted to create a screencast to show my students how to create their homepage in Blackboard. I went my sample Blackboard site and this is where I began my screencast. To begin I clicked on the "capture" icon. this brought up a window that allowed me to decide if I wanted just that page or if I was going to create a video. I chose video and then a countdown began so that I would know when to begin narrating the activity. I wasn't able to complete my entire screencast from this site however, since I do not have the ability to add homepages to my sample Blackboard page. Instead, I accessed my own homepage on the EDT6020 site where I had deleted the information I had added there earlier. I used the EDT 6020 site to explain to my students how to create their page and upload a photo. I offered some suggestions about information they might want to include. When it was done, I demonstrated how to submit their page and then go back and view their page or the pages of their friends. It took several tries with Jing to get it right as the first attempt went over the 5 minute limit and my second attempt showed that I hadn't captured the complete image I wanted. However, the third time was a charm and the screencast really was fairly simple to complete.
Reflection:
Creating the screencast was really quite simple once I was able to determine an application for my students. I decided to use it to show how to create a homepage on Blackboard since Kindergarten students typically wouldn't have any background knowledge of either Blackboard or creating a homepage. The program is quite easy to use with a simple drop and drag tool although I did have some trouble selecting the specific portion of the screen I wanted. It did take me a few tries to get a capture that I was satisfied with and I was a little frustrated that I had to start all over again and couldn't edit my original capture.
Resources:
TechSmith Corporation. (2010). Screencast. Retrieved from http://screencast.com/
TechSmith Corporation. (2009). Jing. Retrieved from http://jingproject.com/